About the book

A holistic and comprehensive account of the nature of the transition from hunting to farming in prehistory. It addresses for the first time the main bioarchaeological aspects such as changes in mobility, behaviour, diet and population dynamics.

This book is of major interest to the relevant audience since it offers for the first time a global perspective on the bioarchaeology of the transition to agriculture. It includes contributions from world-class researchers, with a particular emphasis on advances in methods (e.g. ancient DNA of pathogens, stable isotope analysis, etc.).

The book specifically addresses the following aspects associated with the transition to agriculture in various world regions:

• Changes in adult and subadult stature and subadult growth profiles
• Diachronic trends in the analysis of functional morphological structures (craniofacial, vault, lower limbs, etc.) and whether these are associated with change in overall sex-specific morphological variability
• Changes in mobility
• Changes in behaviour which can be reconstructed from the study of the skeletal record. These include changes in activity patterns, sexual dimorphism, evidence of inter-personal trauma, and the like.
• Population dynamics and microevolution by examining intra and inter population variations in dental and cranial metric traits, as well as archaeogenetic studies of ancient DNA (e.g. mtDNA markers).

Contents

CHAPTER 1

Introduction: Changing Paradigms in Our Understanding of the Transition to Agriculture: Human Bioarchaeology, Behaviour and Adaptaion (Pages: 1-13)

Part: Section A: Subsistence Transitions

CHAPTER 2

Mesolithic-Neolithic Transitions: An Isotopic Tour through Europe (Pages: 15-41)

CHAPTER 3

The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in Eastern Europe: Integrating Stable Isotope Studies of Diet with Palaeopathology to Identify Subsistence Strategies and Economy (Pages: 43-62)

CHAPTER 4

Climatic Conditions, Hunting Activities and Husbandry Practices in the Course of the Neolithic Transition: The Story Told by Stable Isotope Analyses of Human and Animal Skeletal Remains (Pages: 63-85)

CHAPTER 5

Health, Diet and Social Implications in Neolithic Greece from the Study of Human Osteological Material (Pages: 87-106)

CHAPTER 6

Using a Bioarchaeological Approach to Explore Subsistence Transitions in the Eastern Cape, South Africa during the Mid- to Late Holocene (Pages: 107-149)

Part: Section B: Growth and Body Size Variation

CHAPTER 7

Long Bone Length, Stature and Time in the European Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene (Pages: 151-175)

CHAPTER 8

Variability in Long Bone Growth Patterns and Limb Proportions within and Amongst Mesolithic and Neolithic Populations from Southeast Europe (Pages: 177-202)

CHAPTER 9

Reaching Great Heights: Changes in Indigenous Stature, Body Size and Body Shape with Agricultural Intensification in North America (Pages: 203-233)

CHAPTER 10

Evolution of Postcranial Morphology during the Agricultural Transition in Prehistoric Japan (Pages: 235-262)

Part: Section C: Biomechanics and Indicators of Habitual Activity

CHAPTER 11

The Bioarchaeology of Habitual Activity and Dietary Change in the Siberian Middle Holocene (Pages: 263-291)

CHAPTER 12

‘An External Agency of Considerable Importance’: The Stresses of Agriculture in the Foraging-to-Farming Transition in Eastern North America (Pages: 293-315)

CHAPTER 13

Mobility and Lower Limb Robusticity of a Pastoralist Neolithic Population from North-Western Italy (Pages: 317-346)

CHAPTER 14

Body Size, Skeletal Biomechanics, Mobility and Habitual Activity from the Late Palaeolithic to the Mid-Dynastic Nile Valley (Pages: 347-367)

Part: Section D: Archaeogenetics, Palaeodemography, Cranial and Dental Morphology

CHAPTER 16

The Genetics of the Neolithic Transition: New Light on Differences Between Hunter-Gatherers and Farmers in Southern Sweden (Pages: 385-402)

CHAPTER 17

Palaeodemography of Southern Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic Populations: Regional and Temporal Perspectives (Pages: 403-428)

CHAPTER 18

Skeletal Differentiation at the Southernmost Frontier of Andean Agriculture (Pages: 429-450)

CHAPTER 19

Dental Reduction and the Transition to Agriculture in Europe (Pages: 451-474)